1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, generally, to human resource management, and, more particularly, to a system and method for managing space and personnel in dynamic physical surroundings.
2. Description of the Related Art
Managing personnel, physical space and other resources, and particularly in gaming establishments such as casinos, has been a source of frustration for operators and owners. In a typical casino, an area commonly referred to as a “pit” has gaming tables, such as for various card games, dice games, roulette or other games, many for gambling.
In a typical casino, floor supervisors or pit bosses manage the gaming floor area. They usually designate one individual, known as a “roadmap administrator” to maintain the real-time status of the gaming floor. For example, a roadmap administrator, assign dealers to specific tables, open and close pits and games, manage strings, as well as EO/CO employees as it happens on the gaming floor. Other tasks assigned to roadmap administrators include activating and deactivating tables, communicating floor status to other managers, and keeping track of overall floor resources. In some cases, such tasks are assigned to lower paid employees, such as schedulers, other administrators or other employees. Thus, there may be overlap with respect to tasks associated with employees of a gaming establishment.
Some gambling tables or areas in a casino are particularly desired by employees because such tables are populated by gamblers who are generous with their tips, or the tables/areas are otherwise potentially lucrative. In some cases, favoritism within casino employees excludes otherwise competent dealers or other employees from working those locations within a casino. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for pit bosses to receive a pay-off from dealers in order for the pit bosses to ensure that the dealers are reassigned to a particular table/area. (this seems very odd to put in here as it does not hold true for all places. More so, favoritism exists in such cases as a Roadmap Administrator may choose to give a dealer preferential tables, more EO as well as a better games dealt ranking.
Other tasks associated with roadmap administrators or other managerial parties include managing requests for private time off, early-outs and call-outs. Private time off regards time, for example, weekly day(s) off, when personnel are paid but not at work. Early-outs regard an employee's early dismissal from a workday, and may be granted in case, for example, a casino is not very busy or not populated with clients. Call-outs refer to times when employees telephone or otherwise contact a roadmap administrator or another manager and request an ad-hoc day off. In some cases, employees, such as dealers, amass points when private time off, early-outs or call-outs are granted. For example, one employee may have five early-out points, and another has only one. In case both employees request early out, the employee with only one point is typically awarded early out. Other scheduling issues regard holidays and other days when a plurality of employees request to be absent. Maintaining sufficient levels of personnel is particularly important in a casino environment, and maintaining sufficient employment levels typically depends upon a particular day and time. For example, Friday night is typically a much more busy time in a casino than a Tuesday morning, thus requiring higher employment levels.
Human resource executives and managers find it problematic to set up shift details, evaluate and update a dealer's status, as well as to keep track of employee turnover, in real time. It would be desirable for a casino or other gaming establishment to employ technology that enables improved data management and human resource management.
Unfortunately, many casinos do not have technology capable of addressing the personnel and resources, management issues, such as described above. Instead, it is not uncommon, for example, for a roadmap administrator to carry a simple pad and pencil to execute tasks on the casino floor. Accordingly, roadmap administrators are sometimes referred to as “pencils.” After dealers and employees have been assigned to tables, for example, the pit boss hands his handwritten notes to data entry personnel who enter the data into a human resource software application.